


turquoise is rarer than diamonds

by orphan_account



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), Spider-Man - All Media Types
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Danger Room cameo, Developing Relationship, F/F, Heist, Jewelry, Kleptomania, New York, Prisoner Reentry, thieves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-14
Updated: 2020-08-14
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:40:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,914
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25898323
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: "The suit fits a little tighter, what with the weight she’s put on since being imprisoned. She’ll have to take it into a tailor’s, but for the night, it’ll do just fine.But there’s still something that feels different. Something that feels akin to stepping into someone else’s shoes. They very well may be the wrong size, yes, but there’s still that unrelenting feeling that something’s off. Like she’s stepping into a pot of boiling water as opposed to a pair of sneakers.". . .After three years behind bars, Felicia's looking to reacquaint herself with society. In her case, this means refamiliarizing herself with the faces of old faces. Some newer than others; some older.
Relationships: Felicia Hardy & Liz Toomes, Felicia Hardy/Cindy Moon, Liz Allan & Felicia Hardy
Kudos: 6





	turquoise is rarer than diamonds

**Author's Note:**

> I had the hardest time with the tags and summary for this, omggggggg. Anyway, was anyone gonna tell me that Black Cat's apparently getting her own tv show, or was I just supposed to figure that out on my own while randomly going through her wikipedia page the other day??? Cause that was legit my first time hearing about it.  
> Anyway. I think y'all know the deal by now. Fuck knows when Imma actually flesh this out int a full story, but I had fun writing it, and I hope y'all like reading it. I was practically pulling my hair out tryna decide what to post this week, and I think this is the one lol.

It’s almost funny how surprised she is to find her catsuit amongst her box of personal effects.

Obviously, it should be in there. It was what she was wearing when she was arrested, and though the system has a habit of making her shit “disappear”, her catsuit’s always remained. So she shouldn’t be surprised. All the same, as she gingerly climbs into the suit, she feels mystified, reacquainting herself with the feel of it as she would the eyes of a long-lost friend. 

Three years would do that to a person, she supposes.

“You aren’t gonna send me out like this, are you?”, Felicia asks at last.

Howie, the prison guard escorting her, just looks to her, eyebrows raised.

Felicia sighs, setting her box on the floor, and pulls her hair back into a braid. “I don’t think it’d draw the good kind of attention.”   
Howie narrows his eyes, then looks down the hall and calls out to the guard down there, “Hammons, get me a jacket”.

Felicia just flashes him a tight smile and says, “Thanks, hon.”

They stand in silence a moment, Howie resolutely refusing to meet her eye, Felicia fidgeting with one of the buckles on her duffel bag. It feels weird in her hands, and that’s an odd thing. She’s been lugging this piece of shit around since her first stint in juvie. In a lot of ways, it’s more familiar than even her name. It’s strange, for it to feel so out of place, when, for the longest time, it was the only thing that did. 

Another guard arrives and throws the jacket at her. Felicia accepts it far too quickly, only stopping to truly look at it once she finds herself swallowed in denim. Intent to ignore that, she rolls the sleeves up past her wrists, then continues following Howie. 

Three years. It’s been three years since she’s been a free woman. Damn, if she ain’t excited. Already, her fingers are itching for a score. She’s kept plenty busy stealing from the guards and inmates, but they never had anything of value.

Outside. Outside, it’s a whole nother world, and, as someone who’s traveled between dimensions, she doesn’t say that lightly.

“Well, Hardy.” The gates, slowly, begin to open, and Howie watches her, his face ever void of emotion. A moment passes before he says, “I can’t say it’s been a pleasure”.

Felicia smiles wide, tosses her duffel over her shoulder, and salutes him. “Howie.”   
A small smile twitching at his lips, Howie turns his back to her, walking back within the gates as he tells her, “I better not catch your ass back in here”.   
Felicia rolls her eyes, freezing when she catches sight of a car parked down the road. She walks along, pleased when she places the car as a dusty, old Ford. There’s a woman at the wheel, doning a pair of extravagant sunglasses. She doesn’t have to wonder who it is. 

“Well, well, well”, Felicia drawls as she ducks into the passenger side. “Look what the cat done dragged in.”

Liz rolls her eyes, lifting her sunglasses as she looks her up and down. “You need a shower”, she informs her.

“And you need a haircut.” Felicia kicks her feet up on the dash and stretches out, sighing heavily. “You ever get somebody to look at that shower drain?”   
“Shut up.” Liz presses her thumbs into her temples and sighs. Felicia cocks her head to the side, taking note of the bags underneath her eyes. “Listen”, Liz murmurs; she taps her wrist, and a hologram emerges between them as she presses her foot down on the gas pedal and starts them down the dirt road. “I’ve got business to take care of tonight”, she explains, fingers tightly gripping the steering wheel. “So...try not to tear the house apart, all right?”

Felicia nods; she turns the radio dial, alternating until she settles on a rapper they both like. “Any info on the old man?”   
Liz flicks her eyes to her, then back to the main road. “Word is he’s being held in a facility in Maine. I need to pick up the suit from Danger and the Doc, then Imma head out.”   
“Danger?” Eyebrows raised, she asks, “She’s one of us now?”

“To hear her tell it, she’s one of nobody.” Liz removes her hands from the wheel, presses a button on the dash, and the car extends into a vehicle the length of a limo. She walks to the back, towards where Felicia knows a myriad of computers lie. “Doc says she’s trustworthy, though, so.”   
Felicia chuckles and leans her head back, allowing her eyes to flutter shut. The song’s changed, to an artist that she couldn’t tell you the name of if she tried. “Man”, Felicia says with a long, low whistle. “Have times changed.”   
Liz’s laughter, somehow soft and bitter, drifts from the back. “You have no idea”.

. . .

Her first stop out of prison is a turquoise heist in a jeweler’s store off 5th Avenue.

A bit ambitious, even for her. Turquoise is rarer than diamonds, and the jeweler’s has some high-tech security. But what the hell, she just got out of prison. Sue her if she’s a little zealous.

The suit fits a little tighter, what with the weight she’s put on since being imprisoned. She’ll have to take it into a tailor’s, but for the night, it’ll do just fine. 

But there’s still something that feels different. Something that feels akin to stepping into someone else’s shoes. They very well may be the wrong size, yes, but there’s still that unrelenting feeling that something’s  _ off _ . Like she’s stepping into a pot of boiling water as opposed to a pair of sneakers.

Felicia doesn’t let herself linger on the fact, though. Instead, she slips on her mask, ties her hair back into a ponytail, and allows her tail to slip free. She snickers, taps her claws against the railing she’s perched upon, and leaps into the air. Catching herself upon the window ledge, she then ascends the building and slips between the skylight.

Within moments, she knows this jeweler’s is obviously a coverplace. Gems go for a lot, no mistake, but not the kind that give you the kind of money to bring in this level of sophisticated technology. Someone’s making bank, and it’s got nothing to do with the diamond earrings dangling in the window.

So yeah. Color a cat curious. But this cat’s got a job to do, and she intends to follow through on it, nevermind the shadiness of the whole setup.

“In and out”, Felicia murmurs, somersaulting over a patch of dancing lasers. She lands with a soft thud, hands coming to rest out at her sides. She presses the heels of her feet together and stares; excluding the safe box she’s found, the lasers envelop every inch of this place.  _ Definitely a coverup.  _

Felicia lifts her arms above her head and jumps, palms meeting the bare floor just before a line of red can meet them. She propels herself into the air, cleanly landing on the counter without so much as a squeak. Her balance wavers for a moment before she leans forward and coaxes herself into a trembly crouch.

Okay. So she’s a little rusty. But all in all? She gives herself a 7 out of 10. And after three years behind bars, that ain’t half bad. 

“All right, darlings”, Felicia whispers as she leaps behind the counter; she turns around, teasing a claw against the glass in a circle. The glass slips free with a  _ pop! _ , and she smiles, thoroughly pleased as she sets the glass down with the tenderness she’d have with one of her cats. She sits there a moment, watching as the lights of the laser beams reflect off the gems, before rubbing her hands together and giggling mischievously. “What do you say we get out of here?”

One by one, she slips the turquoise stones into her duffle. Turquoise and turquoise only. Even excluding the fact of rarity, it truly is a beautiful stone. She’ll pawn most of them off to some fence or another, but there’s one, one that fits perfectly in the palm of her hand and shaped like an egg content in its nest. That one, she’ll keep for her personal collection. 

“All right, babies.” With a grunt, she pushes herself off the ground; she stands there a moment, taking in the thrill of a heist gone right, then nods to herself. She flips over the counter and starts towards the door, only to be suddenly jerked to the side and into a wall.

And of course, she goes clear through one of the lasers.

“For fuck’s sake”, Felicia grumbles, freezing at the sight of webbing along her arms. Her annoyance fades as a smirk slips onto her face.  _ Spider _ , she thinks and starts towards the door once more. 

“Oh, Spider”, she croons, sashaying out into the street. Perched up upon the golden arch across the street is a figure, and Felicia can’t deny the shudder that passes through her. “Oh, how I’ve missed you…” She narrows her eyes, confused as the figure drops to the ground, into a pool of white beneath a streetlight.

Because that? That’s not her Spider.

“Who the fuck are you?”, she asks, crossing her arms over her chest.

The Spider straightens their stance, hands clenched into fists. “I am Spiderwoman.”

Felicia just blinks, casually drawing her claws out once more. “There’s a Spiderwoman?”   
She cocks her head to the side, seemingly considering this. “Uh. Well, if you wanna get technical, there are at least ten of us. We have lunch together sometimes.”   
“Huh. That sounds nice.” With that, Felicia grabs an empty bottle of liquor off the ground and hurls it her way. She doesn’t wait to see if it hit her. With the impetuous bad luck surrounding her, she doesn’t have to wait.

That being said, the bad luck has always been a bit finicky. And it only works as long as she does.

She’s cleared through three blocks by the time Spiderwoman catches up with her. She kicks Felicia in the back, sending her sprawling into a pair of trash cans. Felicia snarls; she lifts a banana peel off her face and bares her fangs, and the Spider just stares, eyes widened in surprise above her scarf. “Holy shit”, she whispers before Felicia hops to her feet, grabs hold of the garbage can, and throws it back at her.

“What does it take to squash you bugs?”, Felicia snaps as she breaks into a sprint towards her, duffle bag trailing behind her. 

“It’s arachnids”, Spiderwoman corrects passionately and lands a kick in Felicia’s stomach before leaping out of the way of a punch. “Seriously, it’s not that hard to remember-”   
“I’m here for the gems, lady, not a science lecture.” Felicia drops to all fours, listening intently as Spiderwoman cartwheels out of sight. She narrows her eyes and, for a moment, allows the confusion more room to maneuver. Because there may not have been any Spiderwoman when she went in, but she definitely recognizes that voice from somewhere. Out of her peripheral, she can see a figure approaching. She allows it to get closer and closer, side-stepping at the last moment. The Spiderwoman stumbles, tripping over her feet, and Felicia reaches out, grabbing hold of her arm and shoving her stomach-first to the ground.

“You must be getting rusty”, the Spider quips weakly. “You didn’t take out the security systems.” 

“And you really must be new at this”, Felicia retorts dryly, placing a hand on her hip. “Discretion’s not exactly my thing. The score’s only half the fun if the world doesn’t know Black Cat’s the one responsible.”

“Well, someone’s certainly got a complex.” She then falls silent, seeming to search for something as she watches Felicia. There’s a streetlight above them, a spotlight if you will, silhouetting them against the crackled pavement. Felicia just blinks, staring down at this Spider and feeling an immense...something. Because she knows her voice, and she knows these eyes. These eyes which stare at her, with so much hurt and so much disappointment.

Felicia lets her go, none the wiser in regards to an identity. She can feel the gems, cold and heavy against her thigh. The Spiderwoman groans, stretching out her arm. Before she can turn her gaze back to Felicia, she’s already gone, trapezing along the phone wires into the night.

That doesn’t stop her from hearing the Spider’s forlorn, “I’m glad you’re out”.

Felicia runs, runs harder than she had when she’d first realized the National fucking Guard had been sent after her. She runs and then crawls, up a tree and then up a building and then up the skyline until all of New York lies beneath her. She sits underneath the moon, listening to the cry of helicopters as it bathes her in its light.

Moon.

Her name was Moon.

. . .

She shambles home, stumbling in through their patio door at two in the morning.

_ 2:33 _ , Felicia thinks, tiredly dropping her duffel onto the couch.  _ That’s a reasonable hour.  _ Too late for a date to be dubbed a disaster but not so early as to warrant The Walk of Shame.

So why does she feel so dirty?

She starts for the kitchen, stopping at the sight of the shiny, blue, metallic woman standing before her. She’s completely naked, save for the Frosty the Snowman bottoms she’s sporting. The woman blinks, and one her dreadlocks falls between her eyes.

“Danger”, Felicia says, the name feeling heavy on her tongue.

“Cat”, she returns with a wide-toothed smile.   
“Why are you in my house?”   
Before Danger can answer, Liz rounds the corner, covered in blood and cuts. Felicia sighs, crosses her arms over her chest, and says, “I thought you said you were bringing your dad home”. She glances over at Danger, then back to Liz. “Not a toaster”.

Liz just frowns. “I thought Vision was the toaster.”

Danger shakes her head. “I’m quite certain Vision’s the vibrator.” She pushes her errant dreadlock back into place, then turns to face Liz. “I should like to examine your security measures, to ensure you are not compromised.”

Liz waves her hand at her. “Have at it”, she murmurs as Danger wanders off to do just that. Then she turns to Felicia, eyes zeroing in on the bag she’d dropped on the couch.

“Why didn’t you give her a shirt?”, Felicia asks, letting out a relieved breath when she unzips her suit.

“Why didn’t you wait ‘til I got back”, Liz counters. “You do realize you’re on parole, don’t you?” She frowns, looking her over, then asks, “Are you okay?”

Felicia collapses onto the couch with a huff. She pulls out her gem and cradles it in her hand, closing her eyes. "What’s with this Spiderwoman?"

Liz shakes her head. "Hell if I know."

Felicia nods. She’d expected as much. "She in cahoots with Pete?"

"Probably." She frowns, watching her intently. "Why?"

"No reason." In all honesty, she doesn’t know why she even bothers asking. Despite his big mouth, Peter’s always been pretty discreet about his civilian life while doning the mask, and, from what she's seen, the same applies to Cindy. 

Either way, it's far too late and she's far too tired to be dealing with it. Felicia yawns, stretches out on the couch, and licks her lips. She blinks, looking at Liz, who looks just about as tired as she feels. "Anyway. What about you? What's with your dad?"

Liz just heaves out a sigh. She's wearing a tube top, her shoulders bear to the world. Felicia can see the way the brown of her skin is lighter and darker in some patches, evidence of the powerpack of the engine pressing too tightly. Liz absentmindedly presses a knuckle against one of the lighter patches and gives a strained smile to the floor. "We missed him by fifteen minutes. Fifteen minutes."

Felicia just nods. She gets it. Maybe not exactly. The feeling of losing a good score by an inch probably doesn't compare much to the feeling of losing your dad, especially when you've been after him for years. But she can relate.

Felicia looks over at Liz, mouth opening to offer some awkward condolence or another when the toaster suddenly returns and declares, “Your software is uncompromised”.

"Yeah", Felicia says, flashing Liz a teasing smile. “That’s what happens when the owner’s a genius.”

Danger nods, then looks to Liz and says, "I should like to retire for the night".

"Electrical sockets over there.” For that comment, Felicia receives a pillow in the face from Liz and a smug look from Danger. 

"There's a spare bedroom down the hall. Make yourself at home." Once Danger's gone, Liz crashes beside Felicia, letting out a giant sigh as she curls up beside her. 

“You’re gonna get him back”, Felicia assures her quietly. When Liz remains quiet, Felicia brushes her arm against hers, then says, “If you want, I could put in a word with Laura about that haircut”.

“Go to hell, Licia.” But there’s a smirk upon her face, and when Liz calls out to the apartment to turn off the lights, there’s a slight lilt to her voice. “I can ask around about the new Spiderwoman. If you want.”

Felicia just presses closer to her and settles in for the night. 

**Author's Note:**

> If anyone's curious, a full story would basically see Felicia, Liz, and Danger working together to free Liz's dad while also trying to get Felicia to stop working for the Kingpin, with subtle hints about her and Cindy's past before it collides with the rest of the story. I would also tackle Felicia's kleptomania and past and sneak in a few Peter cameos if I can.  
> But until then, thanks for reading and feedback is absolutely always appreciated. See y'all next week!


End file.
